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Two new books on RSCs from RCAHMS


After years without any books on the Recumbent Stone Circles of Aberdeenshire, we will get two in the next couple of years - to quote Adam Welfare at RCAHMS:

"You may be interested to learn that we are presently working on two
books about Aberdeenshire. The most advanced is a detailed multi-period
study of the archaeology of the Don Valley, which we trust will be
published sometime this coming year (2007). This contains an overview of
the Recumbent Stone Circles and related stone rings, etc., within the
survey area. In the case of the RSCs, the Don Valley embraces about 50%
of the known examples.The cover may even feature a Hi-Spy shot of Easter
Aquhorthies . . ."

As a result of collecting so much info on RSC's during the course of researching this book, they decided to put it to good use and:

"because such a high proportion
of the known sites had been surveyed in the course of that study, we
decided to examine the remainder to the north and the south of this core
distribution and produce a separate volume devoted to the Recumbent
Stone Circles themselves. There were many reasons why this seemed a good
idea, not the least being that the class, itself, was long overdue a
review, as almost 150 sites have been attributed to it rightly or
wronglyover the years. This is likely to appear in about 12 to 18 months
time (2008).
Although the RSCs form the heart of this volume, it has been
necessarily to discuss them in relation to the many similar monument
types in their immediate neighbourhood and also further afield. Part of
the study is also devoted to a review of the development of the ideas
that have gradually accreted concerning their origin and purpose."

I can't wait! He also told me that full use of colour will be made throughout, in both photos and graphics, so they should be fantastic books. They will most likely appear under publication of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

As with all publishing, the dates are subject to revision, but roll on 2008!
Chris Posted by Chris
24th October 2006ce

Comments (5)

publishing date for this is January 2010, rrp £30. Amazon doing pre-order for £24. Posted by stonedlove
11th September 2009ce
Thanks stonedlove I'd forgotten I posted this. I did actually email RCAHMS about this recently, pleading for the book, and they replied thus:

"With such a comprehensive and expert work, there is always the danger of slippage. While I'm afraid there is no guarantee that it will meet it's publication date of January 2010, I can assure you that it will be published on or as near to that date as possible."

Fingers crossed......
Chris Posted by Chris
11th September 2009ce
If you go to Amazon or RCAHMS website, you can see the cover for the book, so that's a promising sign I think, that it will be with us soon! Posted by stonedlove
13th September 2009ce
Wow, was it really 2006 I first posted about this? Anyway, publication is now due for April 2011 (no, really) and the book is called 'Great Crowns of Stone' and has a faintly underwhelming picture of Cothiemuir Wood (I think) on the front.

Just a heads up for those who were not aware of this mythical and almost as historical as the sites themselves, book.
Chris Posted by Chris
8th December 2010ce
It seems 'Great Crowns of Stone' is finally emerging!!! Got an email from Waterstones asking me to ring as they had a problem with my 'recent' order (November 2008!!!!) - because the card has expired. I rang & it's sorted!!!!

love

Moth
Moth Posted by Moth
26th July 2011ce
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